Thematic Network in Arctic Engineering meets in Helsinki

Arctic Engineers held their annual meeting on April 11th, 2014 during the Arctic Observation Summit 2014 in Helsinki, Finland. A poster on Arctic Engineering Online MS Degree was presented to the summit audience as well as a presentation about Arctic Engineering Online Education as a part of the Thematic Network in Arctic Engineering activities.

Dr. Hannele Zubeck explained how transferring the Arctic Engineering Education from class-room to online has revitalized the MS -program at the University of Alaska Anchorage – the program is now available to engineering around the Circumpolar North. She is delighted that Kai Ryynänen from the Lapland University of Applied Sciences is adding an online course on Snow Engineering, and Dr. Pernille Erland Jensen from the ARTEK at the Denmark University of Technology is adding an online course on Environmental Impact Assessment of Arctic Mineral Resources. With this cooperation within the network the students have more options for elective courses to pursue their personal interests and to cooperate with their peers around the North. Students at each institution are required to complete a project at the end of their studies. The participants recommend that each student seeks a partner from another country and work together for the publication, either at equal level, or the cooperation could be a the level of project and term paper.

Other discussions focused on the issue of science vs. engineering. Dr. Riitta Kamula from University of Oulu notes that while Arctic Science is important and essential, one cannot forget that Engineers react, not just observe, and provide solutions for the challenges relating to climate change. Contact hkzubeck@uaa.alaska.edu for questions.

We thank these members for their ongoing support of the UArctic website:

The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is a cooperative network of universities, colleges, research institutes and other organizations concerned with education and research in and about the North. UArctic builds and strengthens collective resources and collaborative infrastructure that enables member institutions to better serve their constituents and their regions. Through cooperation in education, research and outreach we enhance human capacity in the North, promote viable communities and sustainable economies, and forge global partnerships.